Creating online identities is relatively easy. Verifying an association between an online identity and a real-world identity is not so straightforward. For example, creating an online identity typically may require a user to prove association with a particular email account. Yet, email accounts can be created readily and are not necessarily directly associated with a real-world identity. Particularly, email accounts can be piggybacked off of other email accounts, so that any tie to a real-world identity is kept hidden. One standard for a real-world identity check is to verify a government-issued ID (e.g., an identification card such as a driver's license or a passport) with an in-person appearance of an individual. In-person ID checks are time-consuming, and add expense. In-person ID checks do not readily translate to verification of an online identity. Electronically sending a scanned copy of a government-issued ID bypasses copy-protection technologies built into these IDs, and fails to distinguish between a borrowed or stolen ID and a legitimate ID which matches the real-world identity of the person.